I woke to the sound of screaming. I sat up, disoriented, and found myself sitting on familiar cold stone.


    The cliff.


    Dark, jagged rocks beneath me. Storm clouds roiling overhead. A sickly green glow emanating from below.


    I scrambled to my feet and looked down over the edge, and there it was: the sea of souls. Writhing, churning, an endless mass of tormented spirits reaching upward with translucent hands before being dragged back under by the millions of others trapped there.


    I knew I wasn’t dead, of course. I was still alive; the crystal was warm in my chest, pulsing like an artificial heartbeat.


    But why was I here?


    “Hello?” I called out. My voice was swallowed by the wind and the screaming below. There was no answer.


    I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering, and took a step away from the edge. I bit my lip and looked around. Maybe there was a way out. Or maybe….


    That was when I heard it.


    That… voice. Soft. Calm. Carrying on the wind like the softest hum, so faint I almost didn’t hear it over the sound of the sea below. I’d heard that voice once before, thest time I had been here. It was female, and… It was calling to me.


    “E…”


    I froze. “Who’s there?”


    “This way…”


    The voice seemed to being from further down the cliff, away from where I was standing. I hesitated. Everything I had learned about this ce told me not to follow strange voices that were calling my name, but what other choice did I have? I couldn’t just stand here forever.


    I started walking, keeping a safe distance from the edge. The wind whipped my hair around my face, and the green glow from below cast eerie shadows across the rocks. The screams grew louder as I walked, like the souls knew I was there and wanted my


    attention.


    I ignored them and kept moving.


    Finally, I spotted her; a girl was sitting cross–legged on a t section of the cliff, maybe twenty feet ahead. She was facing the sea of souls with her back to me, hair whipping in the wind. The moment she nced over her shoulder at me, I recognized her.


    “Maria?” <b>I </b>called out.


    Her lips curved into the faintest smile. She looked back out over the ocean. “It’s sort of beautiful<b>, </b>isn’t it?”


    “What are you doing here?” I took a few steps closer. “How do you know my name?”


    “I’ve known your name for a long time.”


    “You died before we <b>ever </b>met,” I blurted out.


    “I did.” Maria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But I knew we would meet. It’s why I’ve waited for you. Calling to you. You only just heard me, but I’ve been here throughout each of your visits, waiting.”


    “Are you the one who brought me here to begin with?”


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    “Hm… No. I don’t think so.”


    I frowned, a bit confused. Maria continued to sit there, staring out at the sea of souls. Like me, she wasn’t amongst them. “Are you… not really dead?” I asked.


    She didn’t answer that. Maybe she didn’t have an answer. Finally, after staring at her for a moment, I walked over and sat down next to her. Neither of us spoke for a long time–just stared out at the horizon.


    The sea seemed to stretch on forever, or at least until it met the stormy clouds above. It was sort of beautiful, in a sad, lonely sort of way.


    “Why did you call me here?” I finally asked.


    “Because we need to talk.” Maria turned fully to look at me. There was an intensity in her young face that took me by surprise. The procedure. The one my fathers are performing on you right now. Do you know what it’s really supposed to do?”


    I frowned. “They said they were trying to restore my mate bond with Alexander. By using the crystal.”


    “That’s what they told you.” Maria’s smile faded. “But that’s not the whole truth.”


    Something cold settled in my stomach. “What do you mean?”


    Maria was quiet for a moment, watching the souls below. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. “My fathers loved me very much. When I died, it destroyed them. They’ve spent years trying to find a way to bring me back. And then you came along.”


    “I don’t understand.”


    “You died and were reborn,” Maria said. “Your soul returned to a new body, something that shouldn’t be possible. But you had help–the thing you call a curse. It gave you a way back.” She looked at me again. “My fathers think they can use that same process to bring me back. Not in my old body, but in yours.”


    I stared at her. “What?”


    “The machine you’re hooked up to right now isn’t trying to restore your mate bond.” Maria’s expression fell. “It’s trying to trap your spirit here in the spirit realm and rece it with mine. They want to put my soul in your body so I can be reborn.”


    The world tilted. I pressed my hands against the cold stone beneath me to steady myself. “So they’re trying to kill me?”


    “Not kill you. Just… swap us. Due to your rebirth and the crystal’s properties, they believe it’s possible.” She offered me a watery smile. “Please don’t be angry with them. They’re grieving. Grief makes people do desperate things.” (1


    I couldn’t breathe. The Anthonies, who had been so kind to me, who had been so eager to use my abilities to help people- they’d been nning this the whole time? Using me as some kind of vessel for their dead daughter?


    “I need to get back.” I started to stand up. “I need to wake up. I need to –”


    “You can’t.” Maria’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. “Not while the machine is running. You’re trapped here until the procedure isplete.”


    “Then I’ll fight it. I’ll-”


    “E.” Maria’s grip tightened. “Listen to me. I don’t want this.”


    I stopped struggling and looked at her. “What?”


    “I don’t want to be reborn.” Her eyes were clear of tears, of fear, of pain. “I lived my life. It was short, and it was painful at the <b>end</b><b>, </b>but it was mine. I don’t want to steal someone else’s body, someone else’s life. I… I like it here. Watching over the souls. They’re less lonely when I’m around.”


    “Then help me,” I said desperately. “Help me get out of here. I have to get home to my son. <b>He’s </b>just a baby.”


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    Maria let go of my wrist and looked back out at the sea of souls. The wind picked up, howling around us, and the screams grew louder. I wanted to cover my ears but forced myself to stay still.


    “There is a way,” Maria said after a moment. “A way for you to return to the real world without finishing the procedure.”


    “How?”


    “The crystal in your chest–it’s powerful. More powerful than my fathers realize. It can anchor your soul to your body and pull you back from this realm without harming you.” She paused. “But it needs energy. A lot of it.”


    “Okay. So what do I do?”


    Maria stood slowly, smoothing her hands over her skirt. Her expression was grave. “You’ll have to consume a lost soul.”


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    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.